The present invention relates to burial caskets.
Traditionally, a deceased is interred within a burial casket which is of a decorative nature and which may be "sealable" in the sense of creating an air tight seal around the interior compartment to protect the remains of the deceased against the intrusion of air, water, or other outside elements.
It has heretofore been proposed to provide a casket assembly which comprises an insert casket within a decorative shell, whereby the deceased is sealed within the insert casket and buried separately of the shell, the latter functioning merely as a decorative overlay for the insert casket during the funeral services. In this regard, attention is directed to U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,821,760; 2,289,406; 3,050,818; 3,133,334; 3,613,189; 3,810,282; 3,815,185; 4,139,929; and 4,177,543; and Australian Pat. No. 232,457 (issued Feb. 8, 1961). Conceivably, the insert casket and decorative shell could be interred together, except that difficulties would be encountered in sealing the insert casket while it lies relatively inaccessible within the decorative shell. Removal of the insert casket for the purpose of creating a seal would prove to be awkward and cumbersome.
Of course, the decorative shell itself could be constructed in conventional fashion so as to create a seal, but this would prove to be more expensive since the manufacture of a casket container which combines decorative and sealing functions is significantly more complicated than the manufacture of a casket container which is to be either decorative or sealable.
It will also be appreciated that the need for inserting or removing the insert casket through the top of the decorative shell can be rendered difficult by the presence of the hinged lid of the decorative container. While it may be possible to disassemble the hinges of the lid, as by removing the hinge attaching screws, such an operation is difficult and time consuming and may have to be performed several times.
In many burial caskets now available, the positioning of a deceased within the casket, in the usual posture of repose involves the manipulation of a mattress support by means of an adjustment mechanism at both ends of the casket. It would be desirable to eliminate the cost involved in providing such an arrangement.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to minimize or obviate problems of the type discussed above.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel burial casket arrangement of the type comprising an inner casket and a decorative outer casket or shell.
A further object of the invention is to enable an inner casket to be sealed while disposed within a decorative casket.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a lid hinge which enables a casket lid to be swung open to either side or to be completely removed from the container portion of the casket.
A further object of the invention is to enable the deceased to be properly oriented within a casket without the need for an adjustable mattress support.